Towards a new normal

Why boosting cardiovascular health is critical

Despite being highly preventable and treatable, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) impose the greatest burden compared to all other non-communicable conditions affecting Europe’s population. What’s more, CVDs have a much greater impact on the most socially and economically disadvantaged members of society. Better management and prevention of CVDs would therefore have a major impact on overall health. And this could help create more resilient and equitable health systems, which are better prepared to face future crises.

In «Towards a new normal: Why boosting cardiovascular health is critical», we explore how European countries can find ways to create more resilient and equitable health systems that deliver better health outcomes for all.

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Three strategic areas for better cardiovascular population health

Better disease detection for all

Cardiovascular conditions largely go undetected, resulting in the highest number of treatable deaths from non-communicable diseases across Europe. Wider screening could flag risk situations early on and enable better management of disease. It’s also crucial to make screening accessible to as many people as possible, including individuals typically reluctant to seek care.

Better management of at-risk patients

CVDs often remain untreated, undertreated or mismanaged. To address that, health systems should reward adherence to clinical guidelines and the achievement of health goals via financial incentives, benchmarking or public reporting. Also, digital health is instrumental for chronic case management, and it needs stronger financial and procedural integration to enable healthcare professionals to deliver care remotely.

Better use of data to drive decision-making

CVDs are a significant and complex challenge. Collecting, sharing and using data more effectively are essential for tackling it, whether to generate insights, predict disease trajectories, support clinical decision-making or inform value-based care. Efforts to gather data across Europe should be intensified and scaled up.

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Improving the management and prevention of CVDs is a vital step forward for European health systems. One thing is clear: it will take collaboration across the whole health ecosystem to achieve this goal. In writing this paper, we’ve been very encouraged by the clear commitment we’ve seen from across the healthcare world to improve CVD management and prevention.

Please feel free to get in touch with us if you’d like to share your ideas on this topic or discuss your questions with one of our experts: